In an analysis of the official White House photo released last week of Obama shooting skeet, Michael Hampton, the NSSA’s head, said the president’s stance shows he doesn’t shoot skeet very often. He also knocked the way the gun is mounted.

Hampton rapped the timing of the photo, which was released as the debate over guns heat up.

Meanwhile back in the real world, Slate and Twitter feed @GunDeaths are crowdsourcing an interactive study about how many Americans have died by gun violence since the Dec. 14 slaughter in Connecticut. It finds 1,529 Americans were shot dead from Biddeford (ME) to Key West and San Diego to Marblemount (WA).

The White House was right to publish the photo of Obama shooting skeet. It had to quell the growing social media skepticism about whether Obama ever fired a gun.

Slate and GunDeaths, however, show there is a need to get gun control done. Amateur Hour is over.